Gaming machines which provide players awards in primary or base games are well known. Gaming machines generally require the player to place or make a wager to activate the primary or base game. In many of these gaming machines, the award is based on the player obtaining a winning symbol or symbol combination and on the amount of the wager (e.g., the higher the wager, the higher the award).
Gaming machines which provide secondary or bonus games are also known. The secondary or bonus games usually provide an additional award, such as a bonus award, to the player. Secondary or bonus games usually do not require an additional wager by the player to be activated. Instead, secondary or bonus games are generally activated or triggered upon an occurrence of a designated triggering symbol or triggering symbol combination in the primary or base game. When a secondary or bonus game is triggered, the gaming machine generally indicates this triggering to the player through one or more visual and/or audio output devices, such as the reels, lights, speakers, video screens, etc. Part of the enjoyment and excitement of playing certain gaming machines is the occurrence or triggering of the secondary or bonus game (even before the player knows how much the bonus award will be).
Progressive awards associated with gaming machines are also known. In one form, a progressive award is an award amount which includes an initial amount funded by a casino or primary game paytable and an additional amount funded through a portion of certain wagers made on the progressive gaming machines. Typically, the progressive award grows in value as players play the gaming machines and more portions of these players' wagers are allocated to the progressive award. When a player has placed a wager amount associated with an eligibility to win the progressive award and that player obtains a winning symbol or winning symbol combination associated with the progressive award, the accumulated progressive award is provided to the player. For these gaming machines, when a player has not placed a wager amount associated with an eligibility to win the progressive award, even if that player obtains a winning symbol or winning symbol combination associated with the progressive award, the accumulated progressive award is not provided to the player. For these gaming machines, after the progressive award is provided to the player, the amount of the next progressive award is reset to the initial value and a portion of certain subsequent wagers on a gaming machine associated with a progressive award is allocated to the next progressive award.
A progressive award may be associated with or otherwise dedicated to a single or stand-alone gaming machine. Alternatively, a progressive award may be associated with or otherwise dedicated to multiple gaming machines which each contribute a portion of wagers placed at such gaming machine(s) to the progressive award. The multiple gaming machines may be in the same bank of gaming machines, in the same casino or gaming establishment (usually through a local area network (“LAN”)) or in two or more different casinos or gaming establishments (usually through a wide area network (“WAN”)). Such progressive awards are played for by one or more gaming machines in the same gaming establishment are sometimes called local area progressives (“LAP”) and such progressive awards played for by a plurality of gaming machines at a plurality of different gaming establishments are sometimes called wide area progressives (“WAP”). Moreover, a gaming machine or bank of gaming machines may be simultaneously associated with a plurality of progressive awards. In these multi-level progressive award (“MLP”) configurations, a plurality of progressive awards start at different progressive award or value levels, such as $10, $100, $1000 and $10,000 and each individually increment or increase until provided to a player. Upon a suitable triggering event at one of more of the gaming machines associated with the MLP, one or more of the progressive awards which form the MLP are provided to one or more of the players at such gaming machines. Similar to gaming machines which employ secondary games, gaming machines which employ progressive awards provide excitement and enjoyment for players.
While progressive awards are popular amongst players, certain players become discouraged by the frequency which such progressive awards are provided. For example, when a progressive award is not provided relatively frequently, a player may feel deflated that the progressive award will not hit for a long period of time and not wish to continue playing the gaming machine. In another example, after a progressive award is provided to a player, a player may not find the reset progressive award desirable or worth the cost of continuing to play. Such a decision to stop playing the gaming machine or not even start playing the gaming machine due to the above-described situations of jackpot fatigue presents a problem to gaming establishment operators.
Moreover, certain players whom choose to place wager amounts greater than the wager amount associated with an eligibility to win a progressive award realize little to no benefit, as it pertains to a probability of winning the progressive award, in placing such a higher wager amount. That is, due to the need to not change or otherwise modify the probabilities of obtaining certain symbols and/or the probabilities of other game events from occurring, gaming machines do not modify the odds of winning a progressive award as the player places higher and higher wager amounts above the wager amount associated with an eligibility to win a progressive award. Such a configuration provides a disincentive for certain players to place wagers above the wager amount associated with an eligibility to win a progressive award and thus presents a problem to gaming establishment operators.
A continuing need exists to provide progressive awards to players.